In North Carolina, when charged with a DWI, you not only have to face the uncertainties of being charged with a serious offense, but you also have to face the reality of having your driver's license suspended for at least 30 days - regardless of whether or not you're ultimately convicted of DWI.

Driving Privileges While Your License is Suspended

Even if you are convicted of DWI, you may be eligible to receive a Limited Driving Privilege (LDP) that allows you to drive during the period of your driver’s license revocation. This means, assuming you are eligible, there is a way for you to drive legally while your driver’s license is revoked. However, if you are granted a LDP, there will be limits to not only when you may drive, but also for what purposes you may drive.

Are You Eligible to Apply for a Limited Driving Privilege After a DWI?

If your license has been suspended after being arrested for DWI in Mecklenburg County, you can apply for a limited driving privilege if you meet ALL of the following requirements:

At the time of your DWI arrest, you had a valid driver’s license or a license that had been expired less than a year;

Your license is only revoked because of your current DWI charge;

Since the current DWI offense date, you have not been charged with or convicted of a different DWI, nor do you have a different DWI pending;

You have not been convicted of DWI in the 7 years prior to the current DWI offense date;

Your license has been revoked for at least 10 days if the revocation is for 30 days or for at least 30 days of the revocation is for 45 days;

If you refused a breathalyzer or blood testing for DWI when being investigated, a limited driving privilege will only be granted if the following requirements are met in addition to those outlined above:

At the time of the current refusal, you had not willfully refused to submit to a chemical analysis in the preceding seven years;

Your driver’s license has been revoked for at least six months since the refusal; and

The underlying charge for which you were requested to submit to a chemical analysis was disposed of without a conviction or, if convicted of DWI, you were punished at a Level 3, Level 4, or Level 5 and you have complied with at least one of the mandatory conditions of probation listed for the punishment level imposed.

If your North Carolina driver’s license has been revoked because of a conviction for driving by a person less than 21 years old after consuming alcohol or drugs, N.C.G.S. 20-138.3(d) does allow you to apply for a limited driving privilege if you meet the following requirements in addition to those outlined above:

You were 18, 19, or 20 years old at the time of the offense;

You have not previously been convicted of driving by a person less than 21 years old after consuming alcohol or drugs; and

At the time of the offense, you had not willfully refused a chemical analysis (i.e. breath test or blood test) in the previous seven years.

If you do not meet the requirements above, in all likelihood you will NOT be able to receive a LDP.

Applying for a Limited Driving Privilege in Mecklenburg County

To apply for a limited driving privilege, you must file an application in duplicate with the Mecklenburg County Clerk of Court. After review by the District Attorney, the clerk will then schedule a hearing before a district court judge where the judge may issue a limited driving privilege.

For those convicted of underage DWI in North Carolina, you must complete AOC-CR-312 to apply for a limited driving privilege. If a substantially similar conviction occurred out of state, you would need to complete AOC-CV-352.

Scope of Limited Driving Privileges

Generally, a limited driving privilege will permit you to drive Monday through Friday from 6AM - 8PM solely for the following essential purposes:

Work

School

Household maintenance

Court-ordered treatment or assessment

Community service as a condition of probation; and

Emergency medical care

If you have non-traditional working hours, you can apply for extended hours upon establishing to a judge that you are in fact required to drive for essential work-related purposes outside of the traditional hours.

In addition to the standard working hours and specific purposes restrictions, there are other limits to your driving privilege as well. To begin, your limited driving privilege does not permit you to drive if you have any amount of alcohol or other controlled substance, unless that controlled substance is lawfully obtained and taken as prescribed, remaining in your body. Additionally, this limited driving privilege does not authorize you to drive a commercial motor vehicle.

If you do violate any of the restrictions of your limited driving privilege, not only will you likely lose your limited license to drive during the period of your revocation, you will also likely be charged with driving while license revoked (DWLR) in violation of N.C.G.S. 20-28.

Questions About DWI Limited Driving Privileges? We Can Help.

As you can see the eligibility and application process for a limited driving privilege is a daunting task. Something as small as missing a deadline, producing the wrong information, or forgetting to include a necessary piece of information can cause you to lose the ability to receive a limited driving privilege. Therefore, if arrested for a DWI, it is imperative that you contact an attorney not only to help you through the criminal aspects of your DWI but to also help you receive a limited driving privilege.

Our Approach To DWI Cases

WE WILL GET YOU DRIVING AGAIN

Simply being charged with DWI in North Carolina often results in your driver’s license being revoked for a minimum of 30 days. However, we can typically get your driving privileges reinstated almost immediately. We do this by either, first, challenging this civil license revocation, or second, getting you a limited driving privilege.

Whether you realize it or not, a considerable amount of evidence exists regarding your DWI charge, much of which is vital to an effective defense of your case. We will review your court file, subpoena necessary documents, videos, and notes, and file the appropriate pretrial motions in a timely manner.

As former prosecutors, we are aware of all the potential defenses that may be available to you. We do not automatically assume you intend to plead guilty and face the harsh consequences associated with a DWI conviction. We pledge we will examine every possible defense and take your case to trial if it is in your best interest.

While it’s our goal to win every DWI case we have, it’s simply not possible for any attorney to win every time. If you are ultimately convicted of DWI, we will help you take every step possible to reduce the potential penalties, such as avoiding jail time, keeping you driving, reducing monetary costs, and more.